What I have been reading and hearing all too clearly in the online classifieds is the exasperation and desperation of those looking for work. Perfectly understandable but this frustration too often leads to mistakes and improper job wanted ads. So much so that I felt compelled to not only write this blog entry but do an entire radio episode, How To Properly Write Your Job Wanted Ads for Online Classifieds where I offer two great examples of how NOT to write your ad. I then give very specific suggestions to correct these ads for a better response.
The key to writing an online classified is to remember that…
1) this is not your personal diary or journal (don’t go into detail about your unfortunate circumstances/life);
2) this is not a personal ad (don’t mention your martial status, your age and whether or not you have children) and;
3) you need to safeguard yourself against scammers and identity thieves waiting to pounce on your desperate call for help.
When you are dealing with an unknown online audience and possibly a potential employer, you must take extra care to protect yourself. Do NOT post your complete personal or professional history with names of companies, dates worked, college attended and graduated, home address and phone number and whether or not you are single, married, divorce and have children.
You want to protect you and your family from any harm, whether it be identity theft, or illegitimate job offers from either bad or fake companies, or scammers or worse. I don’t want to alarm you but on the other hand, yes, I do! If you are going to post your resume or job wanted ad online, make sure to guard your personal information. And I want you to think twice, no, three times before posting the following types of Subject Lines or information within your classified ad:
“Single Mother of 4 yr. old needs work now!!!” or “23-yr. old single mom will do ANYTHING!” or “LOOKING FOR WORK, PLEASE!”
These subject lines and/or ads scream of desperation and are not a good way to attract reliable and legitimate employers. They make you a prime target for identity thieves dangling a “great” job but first you have to give them all of your personal information for a background check. Don’t do it!
No reputable company runs a background check before interviewing you, it’s too expensive to do so with every applicant. They first interview you once or twice before they offer you the job pending a clean background check. By that time, you will have investigated the company yourself for legitimacy and can make the educated decision to release that information to them.
These desperate ads also make you a target for bad companies looking for bodies to scam people. Don’t get involved with them! You don’t want to end up working for an unlawful company which could ruin your reputation and make it extremely difficult to get hired again after that company folds or is busted.
As far as using all capital letters in your subject line and/or ad as shown above, I highly recommend not doing that. One ad was completely written using capital letters! Capital letters insinuate that you are yelling at someone so be aware and stop using them. I don’t like being yelled at by a TV commercial and I certainly don’t like reading something that uses all caps whether it is in an ad or an email.
I know some people use all caps because it’s easier for them to see the letters and they also think that it will help capture the attention of someone. But it doesn’t, it just puts them off. Ok, I clicked on it but that’s because I was looking for bad examples.
You want to keep your ad short and sweet, just like a cover letter. Or even think of it as a business card! There are two formats you can use to place an ad. One is to use the cover letter format. Two to six succinct sentences explaining your experience (& how many years of it), what you are looking for in a position and company, what hours you are available and how to contact you. That’s all you need!
The second format can be a shorter more succinct version of your resume with bullets of your specialties (i.e., see carpentry examples below) or summary of skills/experience. Again, four to six bullets is plenty.
Be specific about your experience: 9 years of customer service OR 5 years of legal aid work handling auto claims…you get the picture. Specifics…if you have carpentry work, write down everything: i.e. trim work, cabinetry, customized projects, painting, varnishing, staining, framing, et cetera.
Don’t write “I’ll take any job offer that comes my way.” or “I can do anything, just ask.” Someone reading that is thinking…”Huh? Does that mean he can do plumbing or carpentry or yard work or tree cutting?” or “I can get this person for cheap because they’re desperate!”
You want to be paid what you are worth so be careful what you write in your ad. Don’t shortchange yourself, be specific with your background and experience but don’t divulge every detail of your work/personal history.
It is critical that you protect yourself further by validating any online job offers you receive. Ask for company information FIRST and then check them out. I suggest writing a line in your ad at the end, “Please contact me with company name and position available. Thank you.” The reason? You need to validate that…
1) the company exists;
2) it is located where it says it is (this is where you need to take an active role and actually drive by the location);
3) it is still in business; and
4) it does, indeed, have a job opening.
You can verify this simply by calling the company and asking them if they have a job opening for that position. Even if you need to speak to the manager because the receptionist might not know, that’s perfectly fine! If they are legitimate, it can only benefit you because it will show them you are a very thorough person and computer savvy.
Some, if not all, online posting sites provide email addresses for their users and will forward any responses to your personal email. This ensures that any possible hackers, spammers or identity thieves won’t be privy to your personal email address. Use this feature.
I recommend creating a free email address (through Yahoo or Gmail or Hotmail, etc.) to use specifically for your job hunt and then you can delete the account after you are hired. Again, it’s a matter of protecting yourself and your personal information.
For specific examples of improper job wanted ads and instructions for correcting them, please listen to the above episode of Help Me Get Hired. It is definitely worth a listen and you’ll even get a chuckle out of one of the examples!
So be professional, be succinct and above all, be safe. 
Lisa (lablady)
Copyright 2009 – All rights reserved.
